


Death of a Speedster

by MniMs



Category: DC Animated Universe, DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Best Friends, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 21:19:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7861522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MniMs/pseuds/MniMs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wally is being tested. By the gods, maybe, but he always had one person to turn to, the one person that could keep his mind straight even when he was steps away from leaving the life of a hero behind. Failure after failure, Dick is always there, but after misery like this, a misery only the gods could have inflicted, there's only one way to pass the test. After all, if you lose the one thing that keeps you from shifting out of reality, the only thing left to do is shift out of reality and bring it back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Faster

**Author's Note:**

> So alright, I know it says major character death...and I'm not saying this won't be painful, for you and me, but in universes like this nothing is set in stone. Realities can be broken and resealed. So don't worry, the warnings are there, but like I said nothing is set in stone, especially for a speedster. And heroes deserve a happy ending, so that's what they will get.

**Prologue**

 

As the world burned, he stood by and watched. Watched until the ashes stopped falling, until the burning in the soles of his feet ceased and everything went dark and cold. Then, for a moment longer, he waited for a sign that this wasn’t how the world would end. The moment passed and a long deep breath shook his lungs. A choked sob, smothered by a useless costume, a useless representation of heroism.

But for once he just wanted to watch the world burn. And as he turned, a flash of red hair, a blur of yellow, he spoke to the friends that could no longer hear his cries.

So he picked up the torn and bloody costume of red, green, and yellow…an R carefully placed on the armor plated chest and cape billowing of the back, tucked the empty shell of a costume under his arm and ran with tears streaming down his cheeks and air failing to enter his lungs.

 

**Chapter 1**

 

In situations like this, in the wreckage after a storm, the smoke after a fire, the blood after a war, the gods never fail to bring their unwarranted wrath onto at least one helpless soul. The untouched house, the uncharred rubble, the lone survivor. The gods never intended it to end that way, with one. With _only_ one. Or perhaps they did, because in situations like this, it never fails that only one is left to feel the pain. Perhaps it’s a mercy on all of those that were destroyed, burned, slaughtered, that never again will they have to feel the pain of the world and what they wrought.

But for that one?

That last soul standing on the shores of the ocean, waiting for a family to return on a boat that was lost at sea, the mourning child left to watch a house in rubble, the widow hoping that maybe a war would have been kind…but no. It always has to be one, and no more than one because it is the mercy of the gods that only one should feel the pain of thousands and thereby sparing those thousands the burden of any pain at all.

 

           

 

***

 

Today there was no Kid Flash. There was no Robin. Only Wally West and Dick Grayson with civvies in their wonderfully ordinary glory on a day with no fighting or training or Batman or Flash.

It was supposed to be a day filled with studying or walking or falling in love or whatever other stupid things teenagers thought to do on a day off. But of all things, it was supposed to be normal. Just one day.

This was all it was _supposed_ to be. 

Wally and Dick were both in Central City trying to get away from everything. The training had been intense lately. The battles they faced getting to be too much like what the Justice League faced. And of all the things to be afraid of, taking over the mantles of the biggest superheroes in the world, living in their shadows, that was something worthy of being afraid.

But today when Batman called, he didn’t call looking for Wally West or Dick Grayson...he called for Kid Flash and Robin.

So instead of sitting in the park and wasting the day away like teenagers, they found themselves in a back alley rushing to get out of their civvies and become the heroes they were meant to be...just not today.

 

“Just one day. That’s all I ask, but _nope,”_ Wally mumbled to himself angrily, “Fine. If that’s you want, get ready to eat my dust, losers.” He said it in a whirlwind of yellow and red. Then, he stood with both hands on his hips and legs far apart looking towards Dick.

“Do you have to be so dramatic?” Dick asked.

“Yes. I do, Dick. And you know why? Because they interrupted a perfectly good, normal day,” He said while looking dramatically over his shoulder far off down the street, “Cue the music, Dick.”

Dick looked at him, confused, and pulled on his tights and shirt for the robin suit, “Music?”

Out of the corner of his mouth, Wally whispered, “My song, play my song. I can’t fight without a good theme song.”

“Right. Obviously…” Dick said as he attached his cape and finally adjusted his mask. In that moment Dick disappeared and there was only Robin and no one underneath the mask, until he smiled and started laughing, “Fine, give it to me,” He gestured to the phone Wally pulled out of his tight suit.

Wally tossed the phone to Robin, pulled on the goggles to his own suit, and with one last look at the boy wonder, he gave a wink and a huge smile, “Thanks, babe.”

Robin typed something furiously into the tiny holographic computer screen that he brought up on his wrist guard. Then, with a dramatic flourish, mimicking Wally, he pressed the last button. Music blasted from every cell phone on the block, halfway down the street an alarm system did the same. Any electronic device with a speaker and an internet connection all simultaneously played the same song, filling the street.

Robin laughed like a maniac as he watched Wally moonwalk out of the alley and onto the main street, then he spun in a quick circle and struck a pose with one finger pointed into the air. His head bobbed up and down to the beat, “Nobody messes with Wally West’s day off.”

Then, the music flared up and the singing started, Hot Blooded blared from every speaker as Kid Flash and Robin ran from the alley and into the battle. Robin jumped over a car and did a flip.

As Wally ran, everything went into slow motion and he broke into a smile. He looked over at Robin and watched as he did flip after flip over everything in his way. When the music got into the chorus he felt like he could scream from the rooftops because this is what he was meant for.

Every kick would go to the beat of the music and every punch with each strum of the guitar. He could imagine the scene like in a movie. The music starts playing, Wally would run towards the camera just as it freezes the frame with Robin to his right and two huge grins on their faces. Then, with the music setting the tone, the camera would pick up to regular speed with both of them fighting back to back, perfectly in unison.

 So that’s what they did. They both ran through the streets of Central City to where there were reports of an attack. But when they arrived, Robin looked over to him nervously. The street looked perfectly normal. Nothing was attacking.

“What? No one’s even here? I used my epic entrance music for nothing?” Wally asked, but Robin still stood quietly, looking around nervously.

That’s when the bombs started. In the air, then on the ground, then in the buildings, all seemingly without source or without any warning. They would crackle into life in a mess of lightning, appearing out of nowhere, only leaving split seconds before each explosion rocked the city. There was something strange about the way they looked. When they exploded the area around them seemed to warp and slow down, everything around it would freeze for just long enough to make you go crazy.

Wally nodded to Dick, they knew what to do. The bombs didn’t leave any time for Dick to get to them, so Wally set into action, every time one appeared he sprinted in a circle around each one as fast as he could until the blast was contained.

With every explosion, lightning seemed to jump from the explosion and attach itself to Wally’s haze of a trail as he ran.

Dick put a hand up to his ear, crouching low to the ground, “Batman. It’s Robin. Contact Barry. Tell him to get down here. Now!”

Wally was being overwhelmed now. There were too many bombs in the air that he couldn’t reach and too many people on the street; In a few minutes the street would be in ruins. How could it all have gone so wrong in seconds?

Then, he felt something tingle in the small of his back. He turned around to where Dick crouched in a nearby alley. A flash of lightning flickered behind him, but his hand still felt for the earpiece, to call in backup and even if he did notice the bomb... _No. Not today. Of all days, why today?_

Wally surrounded the bomb in a microsecond. Dick’s hair blew in the wind that he created in a funnel around the bomb. Then, it went off, the lightning attached again to Wally’s wake of speed force lightning, but for a moment, time seemed to warp. Wally still ran in circles faster than any human eyes could follow, just to make sure the bombs energy was subdued. For a second he could have sworn that Dick’s eyes met his perfectly.

And time sped up again. Dick finished the conversation with Batman and stood up to meet Wally. “Barry is coming. Tell me what to do, Wally. I’m not fast enough to stop the bombs, but…”

“No, Dick. You need to get out of here,” Wally’s words were rushed and his eyes unfocused. He blurred away and surrounded another bomb, but in an instant he ran back, his hands now gripping Dick’s shoulders. “You can’t fight this, Dick.”

“No! I’m not leaving you, Wally. We’re a team. I-”

“Look, Barry is coming. We can deal with it. Just get back to Batman. I’ll meet you back at Mount Justice,” Wally said but his mind was everywhere else trying to watch for more lightning and the appearance of another bomb.

“Wally...just-” Robin couldn’t find the words, he knew he needed to leave, but this was Wally and Dick. Heroes. Friends. Leaving in the middle of a battle was the hardest thing they had to do even if it was the right thing.

“I know, Dick. I’ll be fine.”

Dick nodded. Then, Wally, running again, blurred through the streets and Dick couldn’t fight it anymore. He took out his grappling hook and went to the top of the buildings. Wally could just make out his form flipping across the gaps and running out of the city until a jet black plane hovered above him. The boy disappeared and Wally was alone. Alone with lightning, and bombs, and a city to save.

           

Barry arrived seconds later with a plan. They needed to cover more ground. If both of them went at full speed, just taking out the bombs on the ground, they could stop most of the damage to central city. But the bombs seemed to have a mind of their own, they seemed to only appear directly next to people and always farther and farther away, testing their limits.

“Faster, Wally. Push,” Barry yelled next to him and they sprinted together through the streets of central city, feet turning over and tapping lightly over cars stopped in the streets. Wally turned down another street and watched Barry blur away down the main road, towards chaos.

Wally was never as fast as Barry, if they both went into a battle head on, they both knew Wally would be the first target, easier, slower. Always slower. But they fought long hours together now and had each other’s backs, so while Barry took the initial brunt of the attack Wally furiously sprinted down another side alley. He tried to focus his thoughts, but the buildings zipping past, the thousands of faces of citizen’s way too near the attack zone gave him endless distractions.

Randomly, he picked the ones to protect. You can’t be picky when everyone is at risk. You save who you can. There. A nine-year-old girl crying on the steps of her brick apartment building without anyone else around. _Save her._

He thought it after his body did and in a flash of yellow and red, Wally swept the girl into his arms and flew. One arm cradling her fragile head full of red hair, and the other supporting her against his body he could feel them begin to fatigue, but he pushed forward running just far enough outside of city limits before setting her down in the grass by a highway sign.

“Welcome to Central City,” he mumbled under his breath and ran back into the action. _Welcome to Central City. Population: 0. We’ll all be dead before dawn after this._

In a flash, he reached the corner where he split from Barry, but now he needed to make up time and he was already running on fumes. _Too bad. People to save._ And here he was for the second time, worrying if Barry could hold out long enough for him to save someone else. A stranded stroller. A crying baby. His mind raced again, but this time he had no hesitation carrying the baby out past the city, and placed the crying child into the empty, hopeless arms of the crying nine-year-old girl.

“Welcome to Central City…” At least the population will still be two.

_Ok Wally. Back to business. Focus on Barry. Get to Barry. Can’t save the city without Barry._

He was running again. Arms burning, legs moaning…but he wouldn’t stop until this threat ended. His mind raced again, his feet almost couldn’t keep up with the speed his brain wanted to go. Yellow lightning blurred his vision and a bomb exploded just feet in front of his path, but he jumped just in time to avoid most of the explosion.

As he jumped through the air, still at his top speed, something seemed to grab at his legs, they almost felt like they were traveling through sludge. The bomb. The lightning. Time moved slower just around the bomb after they exploded...How was this possible?

Then, his feet were being dragged out from underneath him. No. Not dragged out from underneath him, but the rest of his body was moving faster and before he knew it his face rushed up to meet the ground.

Wally rolled to his side, coughing up dust and gravel. With legs burning, a torn suit, and bloody shins, he rolled onto his back. The view above him began to fade black, but all he could see were flashes of bombs bursting in the air, fire raining down, white light and split seconds later, a controlled tornado surrounding each bomb blast. Barry.

_Failure. Failure. Failure. Too slow._ All he could think as his vision blackened around him, his head throbbed. If he had focused on where he was running, not focused on getting people out of the city…. If he just focused on containing the bombs instead of trying to be the hero he _thought_ he was.

If only Dick still stood next to him…a hand held out to drag him up onto his feet out of the dirt. But no. He fell too hard. Hit his head way too hard. So he groaned and tried to pick himself up onto his feet, but when he pushed up onto his arms they gave out and his face dragged through the rough pavement once more.

So he was forced to watch as lightning appeared a dozen feet away right next to someone he knew. Someone Wally West knew, not Kid Flash. He remembered seeing him, a boy, younger than him by maybe a year, but still he saw him in the hallways at school...He just wanted one normal day as Wally West.

He almost wished that it was someone else, someone he had never seen. That would be easier. At least then Wally West would be safe and it would only seem to be Kid Flash taking the grief of watching someone die. Wally West could still have a normal day...But no. The lines between his life as Wally West and Kid Flash burned together.

Then the bomb exploded. The time warped again. The boy shouldn’t have been able to realize what was happening before it did, but his head turned toward the bomb, his eyes were full of fear. Time had slowed for him, slowed just enough that his brain would be able to recognize that he sat in the face of death, but not able to do anything about it.

Wally closed his eyes. He felt a tear rush down his cheek. He could still hear the music playing… _Stupid._ It all seemed so stupid now, he wasn’t a hero. He was a failure. A failure that thought for just one day he could have been Wally West without having to hurt so much.

His brain finally gave up and the pain of it all shut off as he blacked out.

 

***

**One Day Later**

 

For once, Wally was the first one at Mount Justice. Rarely, if ever, did a speedster arrive first for a training day. Especially training day. But as sweat dripped off his brow, Wally turned to the pull up bar across the room, in a blur his hands gripped the bar and he hung in the air.

His body screamed in frustration and his muscles resisted the urge to pull himself up, chin over the bar, they refused to hold tight onto the foam grips but Wally forced them. He wanted to feel the fatigue of burning muscles and aching arms and furiously sweating foreheads because of who he couldn’t save. Because of _when_ he won’t be fast enough or strong enough or simply just enough.

His eyes focused in front of him, not leaving the center of the computer on the wall of the huge training room. The base of mount justice. But his thoughts were everywhere else, anywhere else. He pulled up once, through gritted teeth and thought of Barry and of every mission that ever went wrong because of his stupidity, his foolishness, his everything.

He did another pull up, and another, faster and faster, but he wasn’t there.

The bar quickly rising into Wally’s vision and then back out of it as his arms tensed and pulled up again. _COME ON!_ His mind screamed, but before the view of the bar could pass in front of Wally again, both arms gave out.

Now on the ground, Wally rolled over onto his back. He felt the burn in his shins, ribs, arms. Everywhere that hit when he fell because he was stupid. Stupid. Stupid. But he wanted to feel it this time, he wanted to be the first one at Mount Justice so he could train without anyone telling him to stop. Without anyone telling him it’s okay to fail. And for once he just needed to feel the pain for a little while, to be better. That’s what he told himself. _Better._

He shook his head and got back into the workout. Faster. Better. Since his arms could barely support him anymore he started into sit ups, but his body already was drained of energy and the more Wally exhausted himself, the more his vision blurred over, the more his mind gripped at him and he went back to more memories of the same failure.

When he came back to himself in the training room. The hard floor rubbing against his back with every sit up. But he didn’t stop yet, the nerves and frustration from the failed mission were fading, the more tired he got, but Wally did two more sit ups. One for the red haired girl. Another for the little baby that giggled once. And one more _to be better._

He didn’t think about the boy he watched die.

Then, he stopped, closed his eyes, lay back on the floor and waited. He waited for what seemed like hours, but now that he was tired enough, where his mind couldn’t race, he knew the one person he needed to see. Not Batman, not Superman, not even Barry. Although maybe the red haired girl and the little baby would be nice to reassure him. It wasn’t what he needed.

At least the bombs had stopped once he blacked out. At least that’s what Barry told him. But why? Why in Central City? Why the one day he needed to not be Kid Flash? Why did it go after Dick? Why after the boy he knew?... _not knew, just recognized…_ Its easier to accept that way. And what was this all about, who was behind everything?

His eyes were closed. A door opened somewhere in the training room and a shadow passed over his closed eyelids. “Wally,” a voice said above him exactly in the tone he needed. Wally pictured the way he stood as he said it, both hands on hips, rolling his eyes and smiling. Or maybe the smiling was Wally.

“Come on, get up. You’re always too distraught,” he said to Wally with a happiness in his voice, a happiness that came with always doing things right. No, not doing things right, just feeling they are right. Truly a superhero.

Wally cracked open one of his eyes and reached up a hand for help up. “I may need some help here, Rob,” His ribs, abs and arms all ached, but that didn’t matter now. Dick gripped his hand. Strong. Stable. This was Dick Grayson.

_Finally._ Wally thought, and pulled himself up to smile at Dick.

“You’re sweaty. Go get traught and then we’ll talk.” Dick said laughing.

_Finally. The one person he needed to see._

 


	2. Do you trust me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally turns to Dick to find something in himself, to find a reason that makes him not a failure. But things are happening unknown to Wally and to keep him safe Dick follows the plans Batman has told him...but one question remains, 'Do you trust me?'

**Chapter 2**

 

Everyone has that one person, the best friend, a wife, a mother, a child…One person that when we are pushed to the edge of our limits, the edge of pain and sorrow, only seconds away from rushing into our failsafe…seconds away from ending it all, this person will bring you back.

Perhaps it’s another mercy from the gods that with a built in failsafe so easily reached, they also granted us the means to never push that button and destroy everything you built or touched in your one life. It’s in tired words, words that burn inside of you and never come out until you face the one that will listen. It’s in empty glances around a room, nothing worth looking at until you reach the only person you can seem to focus on.

So, when you are close to the edge, thinking that everything you’ve ever done is meaningless, you only need to find that _one._ After all, the mercy of the gods may be a cruel for one person to bear, but two together…

***

 

Dick sat at the desk of the huge computer as Wally came back from the showers, his body still aching from the training session, but just seeing Dick sitting there, his eyes flying around the monitor and hands typing furiously on the keyboard, he felt ready to attack anyone, anything, and win. The aching faded when Wally looked at him.

Wally still had wet hair from the shower, he wore his Kid Flash red and yellow but he didn’t raise the mask to cover his face so it hung from his shoulders, ready to go at a moment's notice. He brushed the white towel through his flaming hair and shook it out as he walked toward Dick.

Dick wore his Robin costume as usual, but since they were the only two from the team in the cave, he had his mask thrown to the side.

Without turning around from the computer, Dick felt Wally standing behind him, he could feel the stares at his neck. Dick didn’t need to turn around to know that he was there, just about to put a hand to Dick’s shoulder and another on his own hip so he could stand comfortably beside him and watch whatever Dick was viciously searching for on his computer.

And that’s what Wally did. He stood beside him, one arm across the back of the chair and the other hand propped against his hip, just like Dick knew he would because this was the Wally he knew.

Dick didn’t take his eyes off the screen as he started talking, “Batman told me something today, Wally.”

Wally shifted uncomfortably and moved slightly away from the chair, “I know. He doesn’t need to say it, I saw him with Superman, with Barry. They already think I’m a failure enough, even worse with Batman confirming it. I should have stuck to the plan, followed Barry’s lead, but I just thought…,” Wally hesitated and closed his eyes. His mouth pulled into a grimace and his grip tightened on the towel in his hand. He took a deep breath and continued, “I just thought I was faster.”

Dick stopped typing on the computer and turned in the chair. “Stop beating yourself up all the time, Wally. No one cares that you messed up once. Not me, not the team, not Barry. Especially, Batman, he has other things to worry about than training a speedster. He doesn’t care when the mission goes sideways because Batman is…,” Dick stopped looking for a word but just let out a sigh in frustration, “Batman is Batman.”

“And that is why Mr. dark and broody pants thinks I’m the dumbest sidekick since Roy sent a flaming fart arrow into the Hall of Justice. Batman is Batman, and I’m just Kid Flash, emphasis on the _kiddd,_ ” Wally said dragging out the last word and making exaggerated baby faces.

Dick smirked, “And whiny like one too.”

“Dude!! At least I’m not a bird! Plus, Batman, doesn’t understand what it’s like having heroes like him. We _have_ to be like him and if we fail we just look like...Like….” Wally threw his hands up in the air, “Like dumb sidekicks. Lucky for Batman, he doesn’t have to have me around in his batcave, just Barry who’ll always be faster so I’m stuck as the dumb sidekick.”

Wally frowned like a little kid and pushed Dick out of the chair in front of the computer so he could slump dramatically into it with a loud sigh.

“Hey!” Dick stumbled, but watched as Wally sunk further and further down the chair until he was almost completely under the desk. “What was that for?” Dick asked, now on the floor looking up at Wally.

“My turn in the brooding chair. Bats style,” Wally frowned and stared at the monitor.

Dick flipped his legs up into the air and landed on his feet in one graceful motion, his cape whipping behind him as Wally mumbled a quietly to himself... _show off._ But Dick continued to move forward and he kicked a leg out at the chair. With Wally already halfway sliding out of the chair, the kick toppled it and all three of them, the chair, Wally and Dick fell to the floor.

Dick was first on his feet, smirking again as he looked down at Wally sprawled on the floor. Wally stuck a hand up towards Dick, “Not cool, dude,” He gestured dramatically, “How will I ever trust you again?” this time laughing.

“You know for all this making fun of Batman’s brooding you definitely do a lot of it for yourself… At least Batman isn’t slow,” Robin said and laughed as he grabbed Wally’s hand and began to pull him up.

“Not cool, bro,” Wally said as their hands made contact, but Wally made eye contact with Dick and smiled like a maniac. Seconds later, Rob started to fall as he pulled hard on Dick’s arm and for the second time in a matter of five minutes they were both on the ground laughing hysterically.

Wally grabbed Dick hard as he fell so he couldn't squirm away and pinned him underneath his body. “Sweet, sweet, revenge.” Wally laughed as Dick tried to punch his way out of the hold.

After minutes of struggling Dick gave up, “Fine, you win! Let me up, Wally”

He let go, but before letting Dick up, he took a stance with both hands on his hips and put a foot on Dick's chest. Then, his hands were in the air and he was talking to an invisible crowd.

“And the crowd goes wild!! The underdog defeats the boy wonder!”

“In your dreams, _Kid_ Flash,” Dick laughed as he pushed Wally’s foot off him, “And now that you're done moping, let me show you what Batman told me.”

Dick sat back down in the chair in front of the computer and brought up the screen to three separate videos. He gestured to each one in turn, “Central City.” The screens all showed similar battles, with shaky videos filmed by bystanders as they ran through the streets of the cities. In each, flashes of fire burst in the air, buildings shot into flames and explosions sent half the car alarms on the street shaking into life.

Dick continued to explain, “Just watch, in each of the videos...the bombs come in three sequences. Air attacks first,” His hand pointed to the video of Central City. He saw flashes of Barry darting through the crowded street, but he couldn’t do anything except move bystanders out of the way. He couldn’t stop the bombs from bursting in the air, he was fast but not enough to fly.

Then, the screen flicked to another shaky, phone filmed video of the scene. Wally, sucked in a sharp breath, _not again._ He recognized the street, the same broken brick and deserted alley with only one girl, except of course whoever filmed at the front of the alley.

“Dick,” Wally looked away from the monitor and down at his feet, “I know. I shouldn’t of went off the plan. I really don’t want to watch it again, dude.”

Wally felt a tap on his shoulder and followed Dick’s hand, which pointed quickly at the screen, “Just watch.”

“Fine,” Wally said and put a hand up to his face, then peaked out through two of his fingers. He saw the girl sitting on the steps, he heard bombs blasting in the distant audio, the camera flickered and a white flash of lightning crossed the screen. Red and yellow. Then, just an empty alley.

The camera turned around, to film another flash, seconds later. An empty stroller. Flashing lightning, but a moment later, further down the street, just barely visible in the microsecond that Wally had the ability to process he saw the familiar trail of red and yellow as he went the wrong way.

A loud noise, broke through the video and it fell to the ground and fell to the side as a pair of feet ran in front of the camera. Now in focus, the same set of steps where the red haired girl sat went up in flames and smoke. Another explosion and the camera shut off to black.

“I don’t- I would have been…” Wally stuttered through his words. _I would have been dead. The red-haired girl. The baby._ “They would have…” but he stopped, not being able to bring himself to say his thoughts. Instead he shook his head and the thought away with it, “Big deal. Just a coincidence.”

“You don’t believe in coincidences, Wally.”

“And neither do you, bird brain. So why are you showing me this? I still failed the mission, I failed Barry,” Wally tried to look unamused, just like he said _big deal. Faster._

“What I’m trying to say is you didn’t fail. You know as well as I do, that she would have been dead if not for you. Yes, maybe sometimes you get a little...distracted, but the mission has always been to save lives, not run fast. You run too fast, you forget where your feet are, you die,” Dick said as he began to pull up the next screen.

“Not for a speedster, Dick. I run fast, I save lives. Basic science, Rob,” Wally said.

But inside his mind was racing. He could process thousands of possibilities, of different outcomes in the time that it took for Dick to think of what to say next. He saw himself running again through the alley, but this time never stopping and the blast filling the street with flame and the scream from the girl that lasted ten times longer than it should have, echoing inside him. Then, he saw himself running again but this time it wasn’t the red-haired girl in the alley, but Dick. He swallowed hard, shook his head and turned back to stare into Rob’s eyes.

_Stop. Stop. Stop. You saved them. You failed one way...but you succeeded in the other._

He put a hand gently on Dick’s shoulder, maybe squeezing a little too hard, but he was real. The pulse through Dick’s body felt as energizing as when the wind whipped through his hair and speed running through his veins.

“You good, Wally?” Dick stared back, but he couldn’t find Wally in them, his eyes shook like in a dream.

Wally cleared his throat, shaking it off like nothing happened, “Yeah. Speedster brain. You know.”

“Anyway, the same thing happened in Metropolis. Less bombs, less fire power, but still the same thing. An air raid first, then the streets, then the buildings,” Dick said pointing to the screen showing a similar video as Central City, but instead of Wally or Barry zooming through the streets, Superman soared through the air, stopping most of the attacks from the air.

Wally squinted at the screens and frowned, “Hmph,” both his hands went to his hips as he bent forward, closer to the screen. He looked as if he were about to speak, but the screens flickered, a fierce wind blew Dick’s hair off his forehead, and before he could even take time to turn his head, another blast of air pushed his hair back into place and Wally stood again in the same position.

He held a bright green apple in his hand with one bite already in it. As he talked he waved the apple around and chewed loudly, spit flying in every direction. “What I don’t understand is, why? If I had been on my A game…”

“Sure, Wally. You’d sure be amazing trying to punch flames. Speedsters are fast, but not indestructible.”

“So, Batman has a plan, right? Where are we going, who’s behind all of it?” Wally finished the apple as he said it and flicked the stem onto the keyboard of the computer, then in a flash he ran to another room to grab a chair, then jumped wildly into the seat and propped both feet onto the desk.

Dick hesitated. Something changed in his eyes like they went dark and far away for a moment. He swallowed hard and tried not to make eye contact with Wally, “Look, KF...Batman thinks you should sit this one out.”

Wally spit out the apple he had been chewing all over Dick, “What?! What do you mean ‘sit this one out’? I can’t sit for more than five minutes without my legs wanting to break off and run on their own. You can’t be serious, Rob!”

Wally stood up and got closer to Dick. Dick stood up to meet him, “I’m sorry. If anyone wants you on a mission, it's me. You’re my best friend, Wally. We fight better together than anyone else on the team, but Batman said-,”

“I don’t care what Batman said! Are you my best friend or aren’t you?! I go where you go and we have each others backs. That’s what we’ve always said or did you suddenly forget! Batman thinks I’m a failure so you do too. Is that it?!” Wally was screaming now, his hands shaking and blurring away from vision, “If you’re going, I’m going…” _That’s how it’s always been. Until today. Failure._

Dick grabbed his hands to steady them, “Wally, just wait a second. It’s just...It’s just Batman always has a plan. I trust him and if he doesn’t think you should go-”

“But you should trust me! _Best Friends!_ Does that mean anything to you? Or did it only when we were both rookies. Before you became a perfect little shadow of the Bat and before I became a speedster that needs the League to sweep me off the pavement after every battle. Before you were better than me?”

Wally shuttered at the thought. He shook so violently now that he almost couldn’t see the black hair of the boy in front of him. In the back of his mind he heard Dick’s voice, but it blurred between reality and a memory. _I trust you. Do you trust me?_

 

***

_“Don’t you trust me?”_

Rob was standing in front of him, but it was dark and both of their costumes were in stealth mode, a black that hid them from view even though they were merely feet away from each other.

Surrounding them, large trees blocked any moonlight so it almost seemed as if their voices came from a bodiless void. They were in the middle of one of the jungles of some island where the latest Kobra venom or Joker toxin or whatever they were fighting, it didn’t matter in the memory. They both fought in thousands of battles almost exactly the same since then, what had to be years ago.

Somehow the mission went south, they somehow got stranded away from everyone else, with shot communicators and no mind link with Miss Martian. In fact, the team hadn’t even been founded yet, that wouldn’t be for a few years yet. Only Robin and Kid Flash. From the beginning, working alongside the Justice League as sidekicks and the unknown attack plan...which was failing completely, but at least they failed together.

Wally didn’t even know Dick’s secret identity yet, but here they were, fighting side by side, stranded in a thousand-acre forest, miles from civilization and possibly surrounded by deadly soldiers or assassins. The details weren’t important. And even if they were Wally would have only remembered blackness and the voice coming from Robin trying to analyze the situation.

“Alright, don’t panic, KF. First things first, take inventory, we have enough supplies to last for a few days for the both of us-

“Uh, think again boy wonder. Speedster metabolism here,” Wally said, sassing Rob and trying to lighten the mood.

“Right. Scratch that then, we need to find a way out of here. Too bad I can’t see a thing! We should have just stayed in the Batplane! Let it crash and burn with us inside it, better than starving to death in the middle of a deserted forest waiting for the drugged up animals on this stupid island to eat us!” He started yelling and kicked a tree and Wally heard him gasp loudly and curse at the pain of it.

“Relax, Rob. We’re alive, right?” Wally asked to reassure him.

Dick’s voice steadied, “Right.”

“And don’t you have something in that stupid belt that could get us out of here? You’d think Batman would think to put a flashlight in there or something!” Wally mocked.

“Of course! Why didn’t I think of it earlier?” Dick started shouting in excitement and rushed around furiously, but then he quickly stopped, “My mask! It has night vision built in, but we can’t walk thousands of miles with me dragging you along, we need to get out of here fast. If we wait ‘til morning, might as well call us dead and Kobra minions.” Dick turned on the night vision as he said it.

Wally snorted like the solution was obvious, “Just give me the mask, you can get on my back and we’ll sprint out of here. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”

“I am the smart one,” Dick groaned, but his voice struggled, “But you don’t understand. I’m Robin. Without the mask...You only know me as Robin. If I take this off, you see who I am. Batman’s first rule. Never let anyone know your secret identity. I think it’s stupid, especially from the league, but imagine what someone like Joker could do with that information...I just can’t.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Wally could tell Dick was standing directly in front of him now, he could feel his shallow breaths and almost feel his heartbeat. Or was that his own.

“Of course I trust you, KF. You’re my best friend. But this...even Batman doesn’t…”

“I trust you,” Wally said and reached both hands up to his own mask that covered his face, but just before he pulled it off over his head, a hand stopped him.

“Are you sure? You can’t take this back,” Rob said, their pulses echoed into each other. Beating hard, mouths dry. His hand rested on Wally’s wrist.

Wally nodded and pulled both hands back over his head to brush off the mask and Dick’s hand fell away with it, “Wally West.” He said it while drawing in a deep breath, then he felt something press into his hand...Rob’s mask.

Wally adjusted it to his face, even though the fit wasn’t quite right he could still see Rob in front of him now, with a hand covering his face. He took a hand and slowly reached over to where Dick’s face. Gently, he pulled his hand away and met the eyes, in the darkness of the boy wonder.

“Dick Grayson.”

Wally burst out in laughter, “Your names Dick??”

“And your name is Wally! Not much better!” Rob yelled at him, but they were both laughing now, “Let’s just get out of here!”

Wally turned around so his back was facing Dick, “Hop on...Dick.” He laughed harder than ever at the sound of it.

Dick ignored him and jumped on his back, piggy back style, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Ever. Not Barry. Not Hal. Please not Batman!”

“What, it’s just one dude giving another dude a piggy back ride in a ‘life threatening’ situation. As long as we don’t bring Dick’s into it,” Wally started laughing again but now that he could see, began to sprint through the forest and around trees. They were all a blur in the rush of the moment and he quickly found a path that led towards sounds of a battle up ahead. Probably the rest of the league wondering where they were.

Dick’s hair whipped through the wind and he held on tightly with both arms around Wally’s neck like a little kid. As he ran, Wally spoke up, “You know, if you just kept your face hidden or didn’t tell me your name, we could have avoided revealing this identity business. Plus, I wouldn’t have had a clue who you were anyway without the name,” Wally rambled on trying to explain ways they could have avoided revealing the identities, “Batman’s not gonna be happy.”

“I trust you. I know we didn’t have to. I know what Batman will think. But Batman doesn’t know you like I do,” Dick paused and then added at the last second, “I trust you, Wally.”

Dick felt Wally break into a smile mirroring his own, but he didn’t point it out.

“I still can’t believe your name is Dick.”

And then they were smiling and running back to the rest of the league. And they were real. Not faceless masks. They had names. And they were best friends.

Dick and Wally.

           

Back in the Mount Justice cave, in front of the computer, Wally focused again, “I _thought_ you trusted me, Dick.”

Behind the name, the weight of a thousand battles since that night, a thousand secrets that Wally never would have known without the name of his best friend. Every time, they said each other's names they broke that barrier between secret and lies and trust, the name no one else on the team knew except Wally West.

“Wally West. Dick Grayson,” he said as he pointed to each of them in turn.

“Wally...You know this isn’t my choice.”

_But it is._

_Failure._ The words echoed in his head again, without the trust from Dick Grayson, the boy wonder, he wasn’t a hero, he was just fast. Fast and lost.

“Whatever, Rob,” in a flash he was across the room in what seemed like miles away from Robin, who put his mask on again, “Just tell me when the team gets here.”

And then there was only a boy. Without the trust from Wally West, Kid Flash, he wasn’t a hero either, just a boy without wonder.

 


End file.
